Fan Forum - View Single Post - Contagion #1 (S&S) : Because Kate is finally going to be in an action movie

One Love · 11-11-2010, 11:57 AM

Welcome to the 1st Contagion thread!

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I'd like to tell you that I was running through an alley with my IESB cohorts after uncovering a Golden Ticket in a Wonka Bar and we were stopped by Slugworth who gave us a classified file containing plot details from the Scott Z. Burns penned script "Contagion". That isn't what happened, but we'll go with that to establish some street cred for IESB.

To referesh your memory, "Contagion" is about a killer virus outbreak that spans the globe. If you remember this script was one of the hottest topics in the screenwriting world in February, before WB ended up with distribution and is now co-financing the project with Participant Media on a budget of 60 million.

The Scott Z. Burns penned script already has Steven Soderbergh attached to direct along with an all star cast including: Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, and Jude Law. Law just recently came out and discussed his character with Coming Soon, "I play a kind of unbridled blogger who's a sort of scaremonger," IESB can confirm that the character's name is "Krumweide" and he has quite an obsession with conspiracy theories.

We have been told by our good friend "Slugworth" that the story throws you right into the very early stages of this killer virus. Here is his breakdown that he wrote for us on the back of my Wonka's Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight wrapper.

You are introduced to the first victims of this extremely deadly virus; thirty - something business woman Beth Emhoff, early twenty - something casino employee Li Fai, and young Ukrainian model Irina Modelskova. Yes, the Ukrainian model's last name actually has "model" in it. Beth is in Chicago at O'Hare Airport, Fai is located in Hong Kong and is currently on a ferry, and Irina is at Heathrow Airport in London. They are all coming or going and all are in crowded areas, of course they're already not feeling well. This is how it all begins, the virus is already making an impact. It's tentacles already reaching out all over the globe for its naive inhabitants.

According to Slugworth this is a well crafted ensemble piece and the comparisons to "Traffic" are not far off, but the comparisons to "Bourne" on the other hand have missed the target and then some.

After a crowded train ride Fai arrives home, which is with his sister Bai, his symptoms are worsening. We cut to Thomas Emhoff is picking up his stepson at elementary school, young Clark, who is also sick. Meanwhile Irinia is partying it up cocaine style with a dude in a bathroom stall at some bump & grind nightclub in London. Now in Minnesota, Beth and her son have formed a sick ward in the Emhoff's bedroom, mother and son are getting worse. Fai finally reaches his breaking point. He's wandering the streets, confused, until a truck ends his life. After being too sick to stay at a modeling casting gig, Irina dies alone in her hotel room. Beth is next, she falls victim to seizures at home and then dies in the hospital. Her son Clark follows, passing at a neighbor's house. A YouTube video of a man convulsing on a train and dying that eventually goes viral on YouTube with millions of hits, puts an exclamation point on the first fifteen pages.

Slugworth told IESB that he really felt uncomfortable just reading the plot details. I almost felt sick myself as he told me about the victim’s ever increasing list of symptoms. My hands kind of felt clammy. I asked Rob if my head was hot and he told me to, "Man Up."

Now we are taken to Dubai where a 40 year old Rafik Khalifia is being tended to by his butler Ahraf and a doctor. Clark’s school has learned of his passing and is now sending all the kids home, the teachers don’t even want to go near the kids. Can you blame them? Back at the hospital Thomas Emhoff has been put into isolation, for some reason he hasn’t got sick. Is he immune to this virus? He is bombarded with questions and goes through test after test. In the morgue, his wife and child are long dead but going through an autopsy. They find something way out of the ordinary in Beth’s brain. This doesn’t look good. It doesn’t look good for Fai’s sister Bai either. She is sick and getting sicker. Bai also happens to be walking through a crowded bus station. Spreading the virus.

From here we move from the victims, to the ones who are going to be responsible for trying to stop this outbreak. We are now introduced to Dr. Ellis Cheevers who is one of the main characters. He is at Thanksgiving dinner with his family when he gets the call, he’s being summoned to help with the virus. Cut to a character named Krumwiede, a journalist/blogger. He is watching the YouTube video of the man convulsing on the train. He knows there is a cover up. We cut back to Thomas Emhoff who is receiving a visitor, his daughter Jory from a different marriage. Now we are introduced to Dr. Erin Mears, she’s meeting with Dr. Cheevers at the Center For Disease Control (CDC). At the World Health Organization Dr. Leonara Orantes watches the YouTube video. She knows it is something more than what she’s been hearing.

Slugworth hesitated to write down any more plot details but did talk to us about the overall story as he kept checking over his shoulders. To be honest I think Jamie was making him feel a little uneasy. He does that to people.

This is a mystery thriller and the comparisons to any of the Bourne movies are so inaccurate that I can’t even fathom where that came from. I guess because Damon is attached along with Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns? Trust me; there are no car chases, shaky camera fights or assassins chasing down doctors. There doesn’t need to be. The story is built off characters, tone, and the nature of the subject matter. I understand why somebody would want to mention the Bourne movies while marketing or pitching this project but there is nothing about this story which would make you think “Bourne”.

At this point he actually looked like he was getting sick himself. I noticed Stephanie was backing away from him, but it might have been his rotting teeth. Candy will do that to you.

Your hands feel clammy when the characters hands are sweating. Your head feels a bit warm when the characters are experiencing a fever. It's like when you look over your shoulder when watching a horror movie alone at home, you know something bad is happening but it feels real. It's as if it is happening to you, and in this case, the story they are telling is very real and very possible. You're made very aware of large crowds and everywhere these characters go are crowded; airports, apartment buildings, trains, and hospitals. There is a focus on animals, is that where the virus might be coming from? You don't know and that is what is scary. The building tension, the fear of the unknown. The clues are all there, you can piece them together along with the characters who are heavily involved in the detective work. You won't feel like an outsider looking in. You almost feel like you are part of the story yourself.

After hearing a sound in the vicinity Slugworth was off. I found myself standing there with a Wonka Bar that I no longer wanted to eat. I didn't feel so good. The four of us headed back to the IESB offices and each took turns reading "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator".

IESB Exclusive: Steven Soderbergh's CONTAGION Plot Details Revealed

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Paltrow, Fishburne Join Stellar ‘Contagion’ Cast

Published by Jeff Leins on: February 18th, 2010

Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne are joining the star-studded ensemble of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion.

I try to avoid simply listing cast members of a film, but this one bears repeating: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, and now these two. Sure, Soderbergh has put together brilliant casts before, specifically on the Ocean’s trilogy, but this mix of Hollywood talent is incredible.

According to the Playlist, most of the actors will be playing members of a medical team brought in by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) after a deadly virus outbreak. A few of them may even be hopping on planes to help other parts of the world, which fits with previous reports that the story would play out over four continents.

Deadline is reporting Warner Bros has snatched up the rights to the film and will co-finance with Participant Media on the $60 million budget. They won the bidding war over Twilight studio Summit Entertainment, among others. It was a quick acquisition since Soderbergh only recently shifted his focus to this instead of a Liberace biopic with Damon and Michael Douglas. He’s also in production on the film Knockout already about an elite black ops military team

Paltrow, Fishburne Join Stellar 'Contagion' Cast - News in Film

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So just how good is Scott Z. Burns' "Contagion" script? It's so good that Steven Soderbergh decided to push everything else aside to fast track it for a fall start. An action-thriller about the outbreak of a deadly virus, from what we've heard, Burns' script is a multi-strand film not unlike the Academy award-winning "Traffic." Our sources tell us the story takes place over four continents and is "terrifying."

The project has attracted the likes of Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard who all have deals closing to star in the film. With the cast in place, Soderbergh and his people are now shopping the project around town with co-financing already in place from Participant Productions. Undoubtedly with a great cast already locked, and with comparisons to "Traffic" and "Bourne" being thrown around, this one will get snapped up quick. For Burns, it continues his run of projects with both Soderbergh and Damon. Having scripted "The Informant!" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," he's clearly delivering the kind of work both of these guys like.

This isn't the first we've heard of the script. Back in September, Burns discussed how he and Soderbergh originally came up with the idea to do a "virus movie" after a sneeze in "The Informant!" triggered a discussion of germs (and evidently metaphors) between the two.

So what about Soderbergh's long-gestating "Liberace"? No worries there, as it's simply going to film after "Contagion" in early 2011 with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon still on board. And of course, the endlessly restless director is currently hard at work shooting his martial arts spy flick "Knockout."

Our source also tells us that Soderbergh switched up this project and "Liberace" because it was more time sensitive; there might be a couple other projects out there brewing with the same subject matter in mind and they wanted to get out there first.

:: The Playlist ::: Soderbergh Flips 'Liberace' For 'Contagion' With Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law & Marion Cotillard

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'Contagion' spreads to Hong Kong

BEIJING –- Steven Soderbergh is bringing his fear-of-disease thriller “Contagion” to shoot in Hong Kong in a move that is likely to stir up painful memories of the deadly SARS epidemic in 2003 that spread around the world from China, shaking its one-party government.

Josie Ho, the singer-actress who last appeared in the slasher film “ Dream Home," told The Hollywood Reporter that Soderbergh has hired her to join the Hollywood ensemble cast in her native Hong Kong at the end of Sept.

In Soderbergh’s first visit to Greater China as a director, Ho, a daughter of Macau’s wealthiest gaming tycoon, is set to play the sister of “Patient Zero,” a casino worker who spreads a deadly virus to passengers on an airplane leaving for the United States.

Ho, who met Soderbergh in Hong Kong in July, said she would draw on her own memories of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak to play her role in “Contagion.”

“It was a very sad time when we were all scared and nobody knew where to turn for help,” Ho said. “I really respect all the doctors and nurses who saved us. They are heroes.”

Ho said she is “really excited and looking forward” to working in a cast that already includes Marion Cotillard as a World Health Organization doctor, in addition to Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Kate Winslet. Ho did not know which Asian actor would play Patient Zero.

Sources said October Pictures of Hong Kong will line produce for Soderbergh in the former British colony. An official at the company reached by phone referred queries to producer Gregory Jacobs in Los Angeles.

Jacobs and the film’s publicist did not respond to repeated phone and email requests for comment. Crew reached by phone at the Los Angeles and Chicago production offices confirmed the film’s imminent move to Hong Kong but declined to elaborate.

Detailed script notes published on a film blog suggest “Contagion” also would shoot in Minneapolis, Dubai, Japan, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, and Malaysia.

Sources at distributor Warner Bros., which plans to release “Contagion” in Oct. 2011, discounted word that Soderbergh might also shoot in China, saying he would stay in Hong Kong, where film production is less constrained than in China.

“Contagion” is likely to be barred from China’s booming movie marketplace -- up 86% at the boxoffice from Jan.-June -- if Soderbergh’s final cut bares any resemblance to the series of events around the explosion of SARS.

The near pandemic episode moved China’s president Hu Jintao to sack the mayor of Beijing and the minister of health for covering up the true extent of the virus’s spread.

According to the World Health Organization, within a matter of weeks in early 2003, SARS spread from Guangdong Province just north of Hong Kong to rapidly infect more than 8,000 individuals in 37 countries, eventually killing 774 victims

'Contagion' spreads to Hong Kong - The Hollywood Reporter

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Cranston, Martin, Ehle, and Gould join Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion”

At a certain point, you have to guess that someone might make a movie just about the casting for Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film Contagion. Bryan Cranston and Demetri Martin will join Jennifer Ehle and Elliott Gould as the latest additions to the virus thriller, according to The Playlist, and they will find their place among the already ridiculous cast. The quartet joins Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Chin Han, and Josie Ho.

Finally, while people like me eagerly await the release of Haywire, Soderbergh is not sitting idly by. He had intended to film the fast-approaching Contagion later this month in 3D, but those plans seem to be scrapped. RED, one of the high-profile camera manufacturers that have been an increasingly popular brand among filmmakers, was set to give Soderbergh first access to their brand new Tattoo camera but some faults have nixed those plans. Instead, Soderbergh will shoot with his old RED cameras that he already owns. (He reportedly lent them to David Fincher for The Social Network.) Perhaps he will post-convert the film? While I certainly hope not, it is clear that Soderbergh fans have quite a lot to look forward to in the next year: Contagion is set for an October 2011 release.

Kate Winslet Fan|Your #1 resource for everything Ms. Winslet

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Exclusive! Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow filming in Chicago!

It appears that some A-list celebrities have checked into Chicago without alerting the paparazzi. Very sneaky!

But nothing remains a secret in this city for too long.

“Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard just checked into the Peninsula. They are in town for a month shooting a film in Wilmette… is what I am being told,” said an ultimate insider to nightlife and dining writer Audarshia Townsend.

The movie titled Contagion is an action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.

And if you check the Chicago Film Office website, it confirms that the film Contagion starring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow will begin filming today around the city. The filming is scheduled to continue throughout October and finish on December 17th.

Other veteran actors in the all-star cast include Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne.

The Triangle has now officially been put on RED ALERT for celebrity spotting!

Kate Winslet Fan|Your #1 resource for everything Ms. Winslet

Other headlines

# "Contagion" out in theaters Oct. 21, 2011
# Soderbergh’s “Contagion” contaminates 2011 in 3D!
# Character Details on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion